Czechs and Poles can not be taken lightly

Press, 21 May 1982, Page 15

Czechs and Poles can not be taken lightly

Some people are inclined to write off Czechoslovakia as staid, unexciting and no danger to the top favourites in the World Cup. That is a dangerous assumption — as West Germany, Brazil and Argentina all found to their dismay recently. In three really tough warm-up games for the finals. Czechoslovakia held the majestic West Germans in Cologne until just four minutes from the end — and then it took a penalty by Paul Breitner to squeeze the Germans home. 2-1..1n South America, the Czechs did even better, holding Brazil 1-1 and Argentina, 0-0.

That is hardly the sort of form of World Cup nohopers. and the other teams in Czechoslovakia's group in Spain — England, France and Kuwait — will have to be right on their toes. Josef Vengios, the Czech coach, is not a man to make rash prophecies, but deep down he must feel his side has a great chance of reaching the second stage of the finals. Yet he still insists that West Germany, Brazil and Argentina (with the Soviet Union) are the sides most likely to be in the semi-finals — so where does that put the Czechs? Right up there with

the favourites if recent results are anything to go by. Tradition is on Czechoslovakia's side, too. They have twice been runners-up in the World Cup, in 1934 and 1962, and reached the last eight in 1938. That is a fine record for a relatively small soccer nation, and one of which the Czechs are immensely proud. Added to that the fact that, as recently as 1976, they won the European championship, and the credentials seem of a high quality. Unspectacular they may be, but the Czechs are’ efficient, painstaking and ready to run until the final whistle.

True, they only scraped through as runners-up to Russia in group three of the qualifying stages — but they needed to hold the strong Soviet side in their final match, as they did. That shows determination, a quality needed by any team with World Cup ambitions. Perhaps their greatest strength is up front, where two vastly experienced players, Marian Masny and Zdenec Nehoda, their cap-

tain, can cause havoc to opposing defences. Masny is the master of unsettling defenders with intelligent runs off the ball, while Nehoda actually scores most of their goals from the space Masny has created. Antonin Panenka, a talented midfield player who has been playing in Austria, also likes to get among the goals, and Ladislav Vizek and Jan Berger add valuable support. The coach. Vengios, is a great admirer of the English style of football and is al-

ways trying to instill more aggression and bite into his players. Their opening match is against the outsiders inJ-Jie group, Kuwait, and if the Czechs get off to a sound, winning start, both England and France could be struggling to hold them later on.

Poland reached the finals with a 100 per cent record in its qualifying group — despite crises on and off the field. With an increasingly worrying political situation, Poland played its first match in Malta without four key players, who had been sent home by the coach, Ryszard Kulesza. for discipline." Then, with Poland leading

2-0. the match was abandoned eight minutes from the end because of crowd trouble. The result was allowed to stand, however, and Poland went on to beat East Germany twice and thrash Malta 6-0 at home. Last year, Antoni Piechniczek was appointed team manager, and he- seems to have instilled a discipline and confidence in the team which could see it shake a few more fancied sides in Spain.

A victory in Argentina at the end of last year underlined its capabilities, and the fact that it reached the last eight in 1978 will surely give it a boost in a group that includes Italy, Peru, and Cameroon.

It kicks off against Italy, who, although seeded, is by no means the big force it once was. Victory for Poland in that first game could well be the start of a campaign that could take it close to glory. .

A lot will depend on the form of the talented, but often erratic, Zbigniew Beniek, who has played more than 50 times for his country and has now been signed by the top Italian club. Juventus.

If Boniek consistently weaves his magic from midfield. the Poles have the polish to take the shine off many more fancied teams. It will be a surprise if they do not. at least, reach the second stage of the contest.

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